Soul Eater
The soul eaters are highly intelligent, sentient Shadows. They are capable of speech in certain circumstances, employing battle tactics as well as mission strategies. If a Shadow Lord is the equivalent of a general in the armies of Nekroloth, a soul eater would then be a colonel or lieutenant colonel. History Prior to Risen 3, not much was revealed about soul eaters. It seems clear that their abilities were not generally known, given some of the responses to them in the third game. Risen 3 In Risen 3, they are found abundantly, both in larger groups of enemies and as solo encounters, and are approximately the same in appearance when encountered in their true forms. They somewhat resemble husky, doglike demons, with large skulls for heads and large horns protruding from just behind the tops of their faces. Typically the horns are unbalanced, one side growing much larger than the other. Soul eaters have exposed ribs on their underbellies and a bony central back ridge, similar to sailfin lizards, although those of the soul eaters are made up more of protruding bones with what resembles partially decayed flesh stretched between them. Society Purpose Soul eaters appear to serve any of three primary functions. * Guardians: Often they serve in an "area denial" capacity. For example, one guards the door to Chani's cell in the Tower of Torture on Skull Island. On Fog Island, the Inquisition camp is "guarded" (blocked off) by a nimble soul eater named Rakazor. They also are sometimes encountered on the way to or near Shadow Lords or crystal portals, such as near the one on the east side of the Calador lava flow. * Infiltrators: Sometimes a soul eater may mask its true nature, such as posing as an animal or a human. Cole posed as a human asking for "help", when his true goal was to get the Son of Steelbeard killed. Circe manipulated both Inquisition soldiers Hector and Diaz in a bizarre love triangle while masquerading as a woman. Raxkarok pretended to be a duck, something only the Inquisition soldier Hull became suspicious of. * Assaulters: Attacking a group of humans and killing any present seems to be a specialty of the soul eaters. Usually these attacks are carried out solo, although they have occasionally been in the same vicinity as other Shadows. A soul eater at the base of Berserker Pass is accompanied by a pair of skeletons, and Zrak Xakom on Fog Island has four black ghoul companions. Names It is probable that all soul eaters have names, but only a handful have been revealed. Those known — and their primary missions — are listed below. Note that, in the cases of soul eaters on Fog Island, each also wants to consume the souls of those whom Balthazar has trapped on the island. It is unclear how this ties into the plans of Nekroloth, if at all. Tactics In a manner appropriate to their doglike forms, soul eaters are relatively agile and fast. They will usually lunge forward into combat, using a quick swipe with either paw or ramming with its head (which can often knock an opponent down). They alternate between their paws and bite while in hand-to-hand, and partially circle an enemy who has moved away before reentering mêlée. Oddly, despite its canine appearance, a soul eater does not pin an enemy to the ground like a hellhound does. Although this means the creatures have no ranged attacks, they are able to quickly close distances so their claws and bite can reach their prey. Statistics Trivia * Real-world Mythology: The abilities and appearance of soul eaters may have been inspired by the myths of Rakshasa, a demon of Hindu mythology known as a shapeshifter and stealer of souls. * Soul Eater Gender: As a point of consideration, Xora Rul was posing as a woman. It is unknown whether this indicates actual gender of the soul eater or if it was only a female in order to seduce the Inquisition soldiers. Category:Risen 3 Category:Creatures Category:Shadows Category:Risen 3 Creatures